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netthauser's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Homophobia, Gaslighting, and Classism
tigger89's review against another edition
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I try to be generous with books, particular when they're first in a series(in this case, The Alamaxa Duology). Sometimes themes aren't developed until later books, and judging characters before they fully develop feels a bit like bullying a child who's still trying to find their place in the world. But all of that said, there were some things I have serious issues with in this book, things that I doubt are going to get better in the second part. Even though there were other aspects that I really liked, I find it incredibly difficult to look past the things that I thought were horrible.
I'll start with what I liked. The setting was gorgeous, and I loved how familiar locations(the map is basically northern Africa and the Mediterranean rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise) and cultures were re-imagined into this fantasy world. This is the second fantasy version of Egypt I've read about recently(the first being P. Djèlí Clark's A Master of Djinn), and of the two it's my favorite setting. I did have to read with google up on my phone to check terminology frequently, but it wasn't any more bother than flipping back to a glossary, which is a familiar exercise for any fantasy reader. I also loved the examination of how social standing grants privilege, particularly in regard to putting yourself and others at risk in the context of protest and activism.
I liked the magic system — divided by element into Earthweaving, Waterweaving, Airweaving, and Fireweaving — well enough, but as a long-time fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender I couldn't help but notice that Weaving was almost exactly Bending. Seriously. You could do a find-replace, that's how close it is. So no wonder I thought it was cool, because I really like A:TLA's magic system. I did appreciate how in Daughters of Izdihar the type of powers weren't determined by character origin, so you weren't constrained to weaving a certain element just because of who your parents were.
Moving on to what I was less fond of, right off the bat I felt that the writing style was a bit odd. I felt like things were moving along at a fast clip, but like I was being told about them rather than getting a chance to truly appreciate them alongside the characters. I noticed this strongly for the first several chapters, but I can't tell if this dropped off as the story got into full swing or if I just got used to it. I also felt that some of the dialogue was anachronistic. The story had a period fantasy feel to it, not medieval but not modern either, but every so often a character would swear like they were in the 21st century. It knocked me out of my immersion every time that happened.
And now we get to the thing I really didn't like. I love a good shades of gray story, where the morals aren't clear and sometimes the ends have to justify the means, but in order to pull this off the shades of gray have to be explored in the story. In this book, the protagonists would do questionable things in the pursuit of good over and over again, and essentially shrug off any criticism. It seemed as if the audience was meant to nod along with them as the objecting characters were dismissed. Particularly inexcusable was the treatment of Nico. After how Nehal treated him in the first half of the book, particularly her dismissal of his obvious distress, I found it next to impossible to like her as a character. And then he just got over it, like it had never happened, and the story didn't bother to examine this at all or act like it was anything less than entirely appropriate.
I grew up around a particularly toxic type of feminism that, frankly, treated it as amusing when women hurt men, like it was some kind of karmic payback. It took me longer than I care to admit to realize how horrible this was, and to distance myself from it. The feminism elements of this story remind me very strongly of something I would've thought was cool back when I still thought that was positive empowerment for women. As I said at the beginning of this(long, sorry) review, it's entirely possible that the author is aware of all these things and intends to wrap them up in the second book. But all I have in front of me is the first book, and given the lack of any kind of reflection on or complex consideration of these themes(in contrast to the themes of class and privilege, which were handled very well), I'm not holding out much hope that they'll be treated any better in the second half of the story.
I'll start with what I liked. The setting was gorgeous, and I loved how familiar locations(the map is basically northern Africa and the Mediterranean rotated 90 degrees counterclockwise) and cultures were re-imagined into this fantasy world. This is the second fantasy version of Egypt I've read about recently(the first being P. Djèlí Clark's A Master of Djinn), and of the two it's my favorite setting. I did have to read with google up on my phone to check terminology frequently, but it wasn't any more bother than flipping back to a glossary, which is a familiar exercise for any fantasy reader. I also loved the examination of how social standing grants privilege, particularly in regard to putting yourself and others at risk in the context of protest and activism.
I liked the magic system — divided by element into Earthweaving, Waterweaving, Airweaving, and Fireweaving — well enough, but as a long-time fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender I couldn't help but notice that Weaving was almost exactly Bending. Seriously. You could do a find-replace, that's how close it is. So no wonder I thought it was cool, because I really like A:TLA's magic system. I did appreciate how in Daughters of Izdihar the type of powers weren't determined by character origin, so you weren't constrained to weaving a certain element just because of who your parents were.
Moving on to what I was less fond of, right off the bat I felt that the writing style was a bit odd. I felt like things were moving along at a fast clip, but like I was being told about them rather than getting a chance to truly appreciate them alongside the characters. I noticed this strongly for the first several chapters, but I can't tell if this dropped off as the story got into full swing or if I just got used to it. I also felt that some of the dialogue was anachronistic. The story had a period fantasy feel to it, not medieval but not modern either, but every so often a character would swear like they were in the 21st century. It knocked me out of my immersion every time that happened.
And now we get to the thing I really didn't like. I love a good shades of gray story, where the morals aren't clear and sometimes the ends have to justify the means, but in order to pull this off the shades of gray have to be explored in the story. In this book, the protagonists would do questionable things in the pursuit of good over and over again, and essentially shrug off any criticism. It seemed as if the audience was meant to nod along with them as the objecting characters were dismissed. Particularly inexcusable was the treatment of Nico. After how Nehal treated him in the first half of the book, particularly her dismissal of his obvious distress, I found it next to impossible to like her as a character. And then he just got over it, like it had never happened, and the story didn't bother to examine this at all or act like it was anything less than entirely appropriate.
I grew up around a particularly toxic type of feminism that, frankly, treated it as amusing when women hurt men, like it was some kind of karmic payback. It took me longer than I care to admit to realize how horrible this was, and to distance myself from it. The feminism elements of this story remind me very strongly of something I would've thought was cool back when I still thought that was positive empowerment for women. As I said at the beginning of this(long, sorry) review, it's entirely possible that the author is aware of all these things and intends to wrap them up in the second book. But all I have in front of me is the first book, and given the lack of any kind of reflection on or complex consideration of these themes(in contrast to the themes of class and privilege, which were handled very well), I'm not holding out much hope that they'll be treated any better in the second half of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Police brutality
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion and Classism
There's a somewhat explicit scene where the point of view character undergoes a virginity check. This is depicted as violating.starrysteph's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The Daughters of Izdihar is filled with elemental magic, female rage, and freedom fighters. However, to me it fell a bit flat and didn’t bring anything new to the genre.
We follow two young women from very different backgrounds in an Egyptian-inspired magical world.
Nehal is the wealthy daughter of an aristocrat, forced into an arranged marriage in order to save her family from financial ruin. But what she truly wants is to nurture her waterweaving skills and someday join the first ever all-female regiment of the army.
Giorgina is a poor bookshop worker, struggling to suppress her uncontrollable earth weaving power. She’s in love with a man who cannot publicly be with her and secretly writes for the Daughters of Izdihar, a women’s rights group.
Both women connect unexpectedly as they yearn for women’s equality and struggle to make their own choices and live (& love) freely.
The writing wavered at times - it feels very clear to me that this is a debut. Sentences were often a bit choppy or repetitive, dialogue was unnatural, and the plot felt familiar to many other fantasy reads (elemental magic has been done so often & it wasn’t really included in a new way here).
It was a bit draining to input all the sexism, and to see the women’s rights group fall into the same cycles. New protest idea, it gets squandered by men and/or corrupt politicians and police, women have to reformulate, and so on. This is most of the book, and it’s copied & pasted straight from history.
I also felt like Nehal was a stronger character - with a bit more character development. I was antsier reading from Giorgina’s POV, and didn’t care much for her conflict with her love interest. It felt like she was just one-dimensionally tossed in to suffer at the hands of various men. Contrastingly, Nehal’s growth (both in uncovering the realities of her world and discovering her sexuality) was more engaging.
But even so - the queer plotlines (Nehal’s and a random side character who shows up at two convenient moments) felt underdeveloped. And Nehal’s impulsivity grew a little tiring, alongside her unbelievably fast rise in skill with waterweaving. She also NEVER faced any consequences for her harmful actions … and it’s not particularly clear why she desires to be part of the women’s rights movement in the first place. She can’t even be bothered to read the magazines.
I felt like there were interesting ideas here - with the setting and with the characters - that simply weren’t explored enough.
CW: sexism, misogyny, murder, death, homophobia, lesbophobia, police brutality, sexual harassment, sexual assault, classism, gun violence, grief, war, abortion
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(I received a free copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, War, and Classism
incipientdreamer's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Buckle up everyone, because this is going to be a loong review. This book fueled my feminist rage and I was in a constantly ranty mode while reading this. A phenomenal debut; I cannot wait to read the sequel after that cliffhanger of an ending!
The Daughters of Izdihar was everything I wanted by a novel marketed as "two women's quest to fight for women's rights in an Egypt-inspired world with elemental magic". I have read a couple of fantasy books that tackle sexism on a large scale, centring on a group of women fighting for their basic human rights, and while I usually enjoy most of them, The Daughters of Izdihar hits home more than those other books. Part of the reason might be because the world feels so real and close to me. I grew up in a conservative South Asian Muslim country where religious dogma and extremism meant that women were treated as sub-human creatures. A lot of the struggles depicted in Elsbai's book are still rampant/normalized in countries such as my own. Not to mention the feminist revolution taking place in Iran is eerily similar to how the Daughters are treated in this book. Elsbai shows us the ugly truth of the patriarchal society we live in, a place where women are denied the right to vote, go out on their own, sign legal documents, and not be allowed to pursue education. This is the reality faced by women and young girls in Afghanistan and Saudia Arabia. Women who dare to speak out are jailed and beaten and abused.
Both of Elsbai's leading characters are unique perspectives on how sexism affects women differently depending on their social class. Nehal, a wealthy sheltered woman, who doesn't really care about the consequences of her actions because she has her wealth and privilege to fall back on is a study of how most rich women might not care about misogyny in society because they are so sheltered. Meanwhile, Giorgina coming from a poor household, and having no security in life has a more muted or hesitant perspective in fighting for her rights. Not to mention the numerous other members of the Daughters who each have their own circumstances and choose to fight their battles accordingly. I feel like depictions like this, show that there is no such thing as a bad feminist.
I loved the character development of both characters, how Nehal eventually opens her eyes to injustice, and how Giorgina finally gains the courage to live her own life, by stepping out of the shadow cast by her controlling father. Another thing I found interesting was how Nico, Giorgina's love interest was shown to be a very passive person when it came to matters that did not affect him that deeply. It showed the lack of initiative by many men who claim to be "allies".
This book is also unapologetically queer which given the community it's set in, hits painfully home for me. The writing is nothing extraordinary but for a debut book, I would say it's still pretty good given other recent debuts. The worldbuilding is lush and you can see the author's love for her culture in the way she describes the foods and architecture. The magic system is very Avatar-style elemental magic, and I'm excited to learn more about Nehal and Giorgina's growing powers in book two.
The Daughters of Izdihar takes the patriarchy and rips it to shreds. We desperately need more WOC writing books about feminism because they shed light on how underprivileged women in underdeveloped countries are still suffering. Unfortunately, the racist bias in the publishing industry is obvious, given the lack of marketing this book had. Seems like people only care about domestic violence when Collen Hoover rights about it...
Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own
The Daughters of Izdihar was everything I wanted by a novel marketed as "two women's quest to fight for women's rights in an Egypt-inspired world with elemental magic". I have read a couple of fantasy books that tackle sexism on a large scale, centring on a group of women fighting for their basic human rights, and while I usually enjoy most of them, The Daughters of Izdihar hits home more than those other books. Part of the reason might be because the world feels so real and close to me. I grew up in a conservative South Asian Muslim country where religious dogma and extremism meant that women were treated as sub-human creatures. A lot of the struggles depicted in Elsbai's book are still rampant/normalized in countries such as my own. Not to mention the feminist revolution taking place in Iran is eerily similar to how the Daughters are treated in this book. Elsbai shows us the ugly truth of the patriarchal society we live in, a place where women are denied the right to vote, go out on their own, sign legal documents, and not be allowed to pursue education. This is the reality faced by women and young girls in Afghanistan and Saudia Arabia. Women who dare to speak out are jailed and beaten and abused.
Both of Elsbai's leading characters are unique perspectives on how sexism affects women differently depending on their social class. Nehal, a wealthy sheltered woman, who doesn't really care about the consequences of her actions because she has her wealth and privilege to fall back on is a study of how most rich women might not care about misogyny in society because they are so sheltered. Meanwhile, Giorgina coming from a poor household, and having no security in life has a more muted or hesitant perspective in fighting for her rights. Not to mention the numerous other members of the Daughters who each have their own circumstances and choose to fight their battles accordingly. I feel like depictions like this, show that there is no such thing as a bad feminist.
I loved the character development of both characters, how Nehal eventually opens her eyes to injustice, and how Giorgina finally gains the courage to live her own life, by stepping out of the shadow cast by her controlling father. Another thing I found interesting was how Nico, Giorgina's love interest was shown to be a very passive person when it came to matters that did not affect him that deeply. It showed the lack of initiative by many men who claim to be "allies".
This book is also unapologetically queer which given the community it's set in, hits painfully home for me. The writing is nothing extraordinary but for a debut book, I would say it's still pretty good given other recent debuts. The worldbuilding is lush and you can see the author's love for her culture in the way she describes the foods and architecture. The magic system is very Avatar-style elemental magic, and I'm excited to learn more about Nehal and Giorgina's growing powers in book two.
The Daughters of Izdihar takes the patriarchy and rips it to shreds. We desperately need more WOC writing books about feminism because they shed light on how underprivileged women in underdeveloped countries are still suffering. Unfortunately, the racist bias in the publishing industry is obvious, given the lack of marketing this book had. Seems like people only care about domestic violence when Collen Hoover rights about it...
Thank you to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Police brutality, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
azrah786's review against another edition
4.5
[This review can also be found on my BLOG]
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, injury, murder, death, police brutality, sexual harassment, medical trauma, sexism, misogyny, classism, homophobia, lesbophobia, fire/fire injury, grief, abortion
--
An unputdownable debut, The Daughters of Izdihar is a story with captivating magic and a stirring fight for independence.
Set in a lush, historic Egypt inspired fantasy world where a profoundly patriarchal society is as prejudiced to those with rare elemental ‘weaving’ powers as it is to its women, two women’s lives intertwine through the activist group The Daughters of Izdihar and their fight for their rights as both women and weavers.
Our protagonists are Nehal, a noble woman with a fiery disposition coerced into an arranged manage to get her family out of debt, who craves the opportunity to better learn to control her water weaving powers and join the Alamaxa Weaving Academy. And Giorgina, a more reserved and subtly defiant working class woman with earth weaving powers of her own, who’s solace in life comes from contributing to the Daughters of Izdihar and working at a local bookshop.
**I received a proof copy from Orbit Books UK in exchange for an honest review**
CW: violence, gun violence, blood, injury, murder, death, police brutality, sexual harassment, medical trauma, sexism, misogyny, classism, homophobia, lesbophobia, fire/fire injury, grief, abortion
--
An unputdownable debut, The Daughters of Izdihar is a story with captivating magic and a stirring fight for independence.
Set in a lush, historic Egypt inspired fantasy world where a profoundly patriarchal society is as prejudiced to those with rare elemental ‘weaving’ powers as it is to its women, two women’s lives intertwine through the activist group The Daughters of Izdihar and their fight for their rights as both women and weavers.
Our protagonists are Nehal, a noble woman with a fiery disposition coerced into an arranged manage to get her family out of debt, who craves the opportunity to better learn to control her water weaving powers and join the Alamaxa Weaving Academy. And Giorgina, a more reserved and subtly defiant working class woman with earth weaving powers of her own, who’s solace in life comes from contributing to the Daughters of Izdihar and working at a local bookshop.
“There are times when you must speak. Even if you can’t change the other person. If you don’t speak, then they have succeeded in changing you.“
Hadeer Elsbai has done a fantastic job at narrating an engaging storyline that cuts deep at your emotions and the parallels to real world prejudices made it hit all the more harder. I think the mastery particularly comes from how the two perspectives we follow were not only distinct in their personalities, but having two protagonists of different social backgrounds gave the story that much more significance.
They may be different in status and demeanour but Nehal and Giorgina have much in common when it comes to the challenges they face with their families, their relationships/love, their powers and wider society. I found myself equally infuriated and inspired by their individual journeys and the situations they faced and the very real endurance of women that this story lays bare.
“Didn’t the reality of the oppression matter more than the language they used to fight it?”
My main criticism is that while the descriptions and sense of atmosphere of the settings are captured pretty well, I thought the worldbuilding was a little loose especially when it came to the magic system. Though the handful of abilities used throughout the book made for some exciting moments of action, they weren’t really explained or developed on much. We get a few details on the pantheon of Gods that the powers are said to come from and a few training scenes at the academy but the magic definitely had less of a focus than the overarching political plot.
The intrigue here was twofold, that of the more personal human rights level and then the machinations relating to international relations occurring in the background that slowly gained more prominence. The tensions, fast moving narrative and compelling determination of these characters will keep you hooked to the very end. And with how everything closes off in this first instalment I am now going to be counting the days until I can get my hands on book 2!
Final Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Abortion and Sexual harassment
takarakei's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Glad I can finally post my review since the HC strike is over and a fair contract has been voted on!
Feminine Rage. F the Patriarchy in every way.
Nehal is an amazing protagonist - I love her (she gave me minor Rin from The Poppy War flashbacks). Her rage is so palpable to read. Georgina and Nehal both become involved with the Daughters of Izdihar which is a women's rights/suffragette group, and things get interesting. I hope we get to see more of the very cool magic system in the next book, and more of the school or characters learning how to use their power.
FYI: There is a lot of misogyny/sexism throughout this book. It is very severe and almost constant. I don't discount the book for that as it is unfortunately still a reflection of the world we live in today, and I believe we need books like this to bring that fact to the forefront. Just know that going into this book don't expect to be escaping the harsh realities of patriarchal oppression while reading. Refer again to the title of my review!
I look forward to reading the sequel (this is supposed to be a duology)!
2/5 🌶️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Animal death, Abortion, and Classism
*animal death - butchers of animals mentioned very brieflyezwolf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I absolutely LOVED this book and I absolutely adored Nehal! Both Giorgina and Nehal were wonderfully well written and interesting characters, but I really enjoyed Nehal’s “I will not hesitate to call you out on your bullshit” attitude. Also the fact that she comments on every pretty woman that crosses her path.
I was a little hesitant about the marriage plot point but the way that Nehal and Nico go from tentative allies to the partnership they have by the end of the book is great. The acknowledgment that neither of them wanted to be married to each other but can help each other get things they want was so much fun to read about.
This book does a great job of covering a lot of important topics from women’s rights in general, voting rights for women, abortions, purity culture, wealthy privilege, etc.
The wait for the next book to come out will be worth it, I have no doubt!
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review.
I was a little hesitant about the marriage plot point but the way that Nehal and Nico go from tentative allies to the partnership they have by the end of the book is great. The acknowledgment that neither of them wanted to be married to each other but can help each other get things they want was so much fun to read about.
This book does a great job of covering a lot of important topics from women’s rights in general, voting rights for women, abortions, purity culture, wealthy privilege, etc.
The wait for the next book to come out will be worth it, I have no doubt!
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Blood, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Abortion and Sexual harassment
gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
I loved that this book told a story set in a more modern Egypt! The Daughters of Izdihar tells a harrowing tale of two girls, Nehal and Georgina, both on a journey towards freedom and choice, in a country on the brink of war. I enjoyed role of the technological levels of this story, the juxtaposition between trains and palanquins showcasing a country seemingly on the path to the future while being heavily held back by restrictions on women and their personhood. The colorful descriptions of the fashion, the cuisine, and the architecture were immersive and aids in pulling the reader into the story.
I liked the magical weaving element of the story, though I felt that at times, this component of the story felt more like an afterthought. The beginning of Nehal's story leads with a burning desire to attend the Weaving Academy due to her struggle to learn the skills of weaving on her own. Yet, the very moment she attains everything she had been striving for, Nehal never has to struggle to rise in strength and skill. Further on in the story, Nehal's fast-learned ability quickly culminates to dire consequences, but I would've liked to see a little more of the Weaving Academy.
Georgina's journey with weaving, while featuring a wildly contrasting story, had similar tones to Nehal's. With Georgina, I liked that her story showed the difficulties of weaving while coming from a less privileged background. But again, at times, it felt like her weaving abilities only come into the story as a method to lead into the next act of the book and I would've liked to see more of her relationship with her weaving abilities.
One of my struggle with the story was feeling like there were times when the actions and thoughts of the characters were told to the reader, as opposed to being showed to the reader, leading to the characters occasionally feeling very one-dimensional. For example, upon being given new information, the reader is told Nehal is reflecting on the consequences, without further delving into her thought process involved in the choices she must make about the issue at hand.
In a story showcasing police brutality and the escalation of violence at the hands of cops, I found it odd and a little distasteful that there was pro-cop rhetoric within this book. When the characters have to deal with the police force, Nehal reflects that "... there were some like Shaaban who were honorable and dedicated to maintaining the peace.." While not being a full endorsement for police, this line of thinking is all too similar to rampant "not all cops" arguments, and I did not enjoy that the issue is not reflected upon further in the story.
In the end, I did like this book for the magic elements and the setting, and the cliffhanger has me waiting impatiently for the sequel!
I liked the magical weaving element of the story, though I felt that at times, this component of the story felt more like an afterthought. The beginning of Nehal's story leads with a burning desire to attend the Weaving Academy due to her struggle to learn the skills of weaving on her own. Yet, the very moment she attains everything she had been striving for, Nehal never has to struggle to rise in strength and skill. Further on in the story, Nehal's fast-learned ability quickly culminates to dire consequences, but I would've liked to see a little more of the Weaving Academy.
Georgina's journey with weaving, while featuring a wildly contrasting story, had similar tones to Nehal's. With Georgina, I liked that her story showed the difficulties of weaving while coming from a less privileged background. But again, at times, it felt like her weaving abilities only come into the story as a method to lead into the next act of the book and I would've liked to see more of her relationship with her weaving abilities.
One of my struggle with the story was feeling like there were times when the actions and thoughts of the characters were told to the reader, as opposed to being showed to the reader, leading to the characters occasionally feeling very one-dimensional. For example, upon being given new information, the reader is told Nehal is reflecting on the consequences, without further delving into her thought process involved in the choices she must make about the issue at hand.
In a story showcasing police brutality and the escalation of violence at the hands of cops, I found it odd and a little distasteful that there was pro-cop rhetoric within this book. When the characters have to deal with the police force, Nehal reflects that "... there were some like Shaaban who were honorable and dedicated to maintaining the peace.." While not being a full endorsement for police, this line of thinking is all too similar to rampant "not all cops" arguments, and I did not enjoy that the issue is not reflected upon further in the story.
In the end, I did like this book for the magic elements and the setting, and the cliffhanger has me waiting impatiently for the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Classism
Minor: War